


Bright Reprise

by Ginger Jam (skylite)



Category: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Fix-It, Romance, froyotp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 07:04:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4010428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylite/pseuds/Ginger%20Jam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a Fix-It fic I wrote after seeing yet another unhappy ending from Joss Whedon in the form of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. </p><p>Originally written in 2008.  Some updates made now for clarity and correction of typos.</p><p>I will watch Whedon's stuff, but with my eyes open.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act I

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Joss will never give us a happy ending, but I'm the queen of hopeless romantics, so I had to give them one.
> 
> Spoilers: If you haven't seen DHSAB, All the way from Act I through Act III, and possibly the companion comic.

**Ten weeks ago...**

 

_No sign of Penny_

_Good I would give anything_

_Not to have her see_

_It's gonna be bloody_

_Head up, Billy, buddy_

_There's no time for mercy._

_Here goes no mercy!_

 

...But he hesitated. One second too long. Penny opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Hazy numbness had descended on her. This couldn't be happening. The guy everyone thought was perfect for her was really a bigoted, hateful boor. And her sweet laundry buddy was really ...Horrible?

But he wasn't, was he? Not completely. Billy had been in there somewhere -- Penny could see it. The flashes of pain and hope on his face between the moments of manic motion and crazed gloating. And now, now that Captain Hammer had the upper hand, the "hero" wasn't even looking to her. Or the other innocents in the way. Fortunately, Dr. Horib--Billy had told them to run and most of them had had the sense to comply and leave.

_Trouble was made only for me..._

Penny reflected miserably on those words she'd shared to cheer Billy. They were coming true again, her dream of helping the homeless turning into a nightmare. Hammer hopped down off the stage, strode over to pick up the fallen ray gun. It was fizzing and sparking; that couldn't be good. Penny struggled to say something about that, too. The freeze ray hadn't hit her, but she still couldn't find her voice, or force her body to move. She was experiencing a strange, tingling sensation that until just now, she'd wryly resigned to an ill-advised choice to sleep with Captain Hammer, and scheduled a trip to her gynecologist just before Monday's opening. But it no longer confined itself to her nether regions. Once Penny had felt the dismay and horror at Hammer's idea of a "speech," it had raced to spread throughout her entire body, amplifying from a tingle to a burn like a fever that was consuming her ability to move or think.

"Don't," Horrible said, in Billy's voice.

"I don't have time for your warnings," Hammer said. He went on to say something else, but Penny couldn't bring herself to care about that. What kind of pain must Billy have been in to take it out this way? She had to tell him this wasn't the way. She concentrated past the peculiar sensation and heaviness in her limbs.

Captain Hammer pulled the trigger.

There was a blinding flash of red, a roar of noise, and a burst of heat. Then the world became a blurred kaleidoscope of pain and confusion. Penny could hear wailing, but it wasn't dozens of voices -- the few bystanders who had been too curious to flee were unscathed. The piteous caterwauling was Captain Hammer himself?  _But that couldn't be_ , Penny thought. He was a hero. Wasn't he? Heroes didn't collapse in on themselves in self-absorbed agony. Her body had moved, too, she noted, dimly. She wasn't standing anymore. She could hear her own ragged breathing.

"Billy..." her voice was back, but it sounded thready, weak, and odd even to her own ears. "Is that you?"

"Penny? Oh, god, no..."

"Are you all right?"

There he was; her Billy buddy. Those blue eyes filled with horror and remorse, when his had not even been the hand on the trigger.

The fever burn tingle went away, leaving her feeling calm and peaceful. There  _was_  good in everyone's heart. Evil Dr. Horrible's heart was Billy's good heart. That's why he hadn't been able to fire, to take a life. "It'll be all right," she murmured, dreamily, drifting off. If there was good in everyone's heart, there was even hope for the selfish hero. "Captain Hammer will save us."

Consciousness trickled away and blackness descended like a heavy curtain and the pain faded with it.

*****

**Six weeks ago....**

 

Monday did not see the opening of the homeless shelter.

The Mayor had wanted to wash his hands of the entire thing. Captain Hammer had run off, crying for his mother. The Press was being respectful at the moment due to the fact that Penny had died as a result of the hero and villain's clash. But they'd remember that and the moment they did, they'd be raising the sound of derisive laughter to high heaven. The world loves to see a hero fail and fall. The press loves it more.

There was the cost of all the damage. The statue had been destroyed by Horrible's ray. The pieces from the gun's explosion had embedded in the walls. The floor had been scorched. It would have taken the shelter's modest budget to repair it all, and there would have been nothing left to run the shelter with anyway. Not to mention the lawsuits from all the attendants, and the allegations of police corruption. How else, people were already wondering, did Dr. Horrible get past the police at the door in order to launch his nefarious plan?

Penny would have been heartbroken, the Deputy mayor thought, sadly.

*****

Dr. Horrible was suddenly the hot ticket item in the underworld.

There were rumors and mutterings that Bad Horse wanted to work more closely with him; no one had ever defeated Captain Hammer before. Horrible carefully neglected to point out that strictly speaking, Hammer had defeated himself.

The Henchman's Union sent him repeated notices, but he insisted he needed no one but Moist. Besides, there was less chance of betrayal if he had no staff. Less distraction.

That wasn't strictly true. He needed Penny. Needed to just sit and chat with her about nothing while they ate frozen yogurt together. There was no way that would ever happen again. Moist commended him on his decision to wear the goggles on his face -- it took away from his boyishness and hid his big blue eyes, making him look much more menacing.

Billy was just grateful it hid the tears that welled up unbidden at random moments.

The parties were fun, and the part of him that was Horrible reveled in the attention and the adulation. And his practiced evil laugh got a lot of work, now.

"Do you think you could set me up on a date with Fury Leika?" Conflict Diamond asked him, diffidently.

"Of course, " Billy had answered in Horrible's voice, laughing that laugh. The League member had approached the Doctor himself; he'd always been very careful in how he phrased his refusals of her -- telling her that his work was his mistress. It wasn't difficult; there was no other woman he could be interested in now. He'd gotten the one killed he'd cared most for. Any woman he cared for now would be a target unless she was Evil, and even then, she'd have to be pretty powerful. Beyond that? Billy was uncertain his heart would ever recover from losing Penny. He'd never even gotten to tell her he loved her. It was better for him to remain alone. And he would simply smile knowingly when, not if -- Conflict Diamond ended up on on the Leika's hit list. Even if Billy could've summoned up enthusiasm for dating -- dating  _her_  was the most ill-advised choice any man could make.

*****

**Now.**

 

The darkness wasn't gone, but the fever tingle was back. Only it wasn't an unpleasant sensation now. It was the tingle you got when you were anticipating something wonderful happening. Penny took a breath, and found the air was stale around her. She tried to sit up, and found there was no room to do so -- in the darkness, things were close around her. Hard, unyielding surfaces met her toes and her fingers. They bumped painfully against her hands and forehead.  _Where am I?_  she wondered, muzzily at first, then frantically, as it dawned on her. The only places that were cold and tight like this were morgue slabs and and ...and...

 _...but no_ .  _I'm not dead,_  Penny thought, feeling fear and hysteria bottlenecking somewhere between her heart and her throat, stifling a scream. Some sensible part of her knew she'd use up what little air there was in there with her.  _Stay calm, Penny,_  she thought. But thought and action were not as easily matched as she hoped. Claustrophobia wrapped its narrow little tentacles around her brain like some intellect-driven hentai monster, and she threw her arms out in front of her, desperately trying to --  _what? Knock the lid off?_

To Penny's surprise, exactly that transpired. The lid of her casket, and several kilos of dirt went flying up into the night. She coughed as some dirt slid down into the now-open grave with her, and then gaped up at the full moon in astonishment. Penny stared at her hands, then at the coffin lid as it completed its arc and began to fall.  _Have to figure out what's happening to me,_  Penny thought, mind clearing even as she stood and breathed fresh air. She made what she thought would be a futile jump to the top of the grave, and to her surprise, cleared the top of it and landed atop a marble grave marker.

 _I'm a mess,_  she thought, looking down at the plain black dress in which she'd been buried. Dirt was all over her. She needed a shower, a change of clothes, and -- she had a strange craving for frozen yogurt.

As she stumbled back toward Los Angeles, she found words coming to her lips. Her own voice rising to keep her company on the long walk, judging by the distance of the city's lights in the darkness.

 

_**[Reprise- On The Rise]**  
_

_I believed in good inside of everybody's heart_

_But now that lie's revealed._

_And now my world has come apart_

_I can't believe it's real._

 

_I cannot believe my eyes_

_Through the full moon and clear dark skies_

_But it's plain to see_

_something inside of me_

_Is on the rise..._

 

***

Billy used his vibration-resonance device on the lock and security system for the laundromat, the nightvision lenses in his goggles to see his way. It wouldn't do to have Dr. Horrible seen doing his laundry, but the invisibility field handled that easily enough. Billy just couldn't face the sight of the laundromat in bright daylight; Penny's memory would wander through his tear-blurred vision. He could hear her sweet voice. Feel the warmth of her fingers on his face as she sang encouragement to him. And it was a safe place. His blog audience clamored for him night and day now. At least here, it was quiet.

So he sneaked in, invisibly, under cover of darkness, to do his wash. Billy didn't get in his own way anymore. Every invention worked now on the first try. Some better than expected.

*****

She remembered her last words. Captain Hammer had not saved her. She dimly recalled feeling shaking hands touching her face before all consciousness fled. And now, minutes later (minutes?!) , she jogged into Los Angeles, dirty and disheveled. Penny returned to her apartment to find it empty, with changed locks, and all her few belongings -- those remaining, anyway, after the sanitation and street people had done with them -- dumped in the filthy alley.

 _Keep your head up, Penny, sweetie_ , she encouraged herself, stuffing the  few salvageable items of clothing into a battered pink duffel bag.  _The_ _shelter will have a place to clean up, wash my clothes, and get some_ _sleep._

She returned to the Helping Hands homeless shelter, to her horror finding the building boarded up, dark and silent. Closed. Emotions whirled in her heart, and into her head: rage, dismay, shock, sadness. They'd let her dream die with her? While she stood there, struggling with disbelief, the wind blew a newspaper onto her ankle. Reaching down, she read the headline:  **WORLD MOURNS WHATS-HER-NAME.** _That's all I was to them? Captain_ _Hammer's girlfriend?_ The maelstrom settled down with fury at its surface.

Her hand crumpled the page, and she lobbed it into a trashcan from ten yards away. Turning to walk away, another bit of discarded newsprint hit her other leg.  **WHERE IS CAPTAIN HAMMER?** That page joined the first in  the trash as Penny turned to walk into the dark.  _He only did it to get_ _me into bed. And now where is he? Gone? The work meant nothing to him?_

It was getting harder, in the face of all she'd experienced this night to keep her hope alive. Her home, gone. Her dream, gone. Her hero, a sham  _and_  gone.

 

She found a refrigerator box at the BuyMore, and she'd tucked it under the freeway to sleep in that night.  _Things will look_ _better in the light of day,_ she told herself, blinking back threatening tears. In the night, the homeless gathered around her in boxes of their own, aware that another soul had fallen through society's cracks and joined them.

But the morning didn't make things look any better. She was still covered in filth. The shelter was still gone. She was, if the newspapers were to be believed, legally dead, and then forgotten after a token period of conspicuous media mourning.  _I think I'm entitled to one day of feeling sorry for myself,_ Penny thought, huddling under the freeway.  _I won't wallow, but a good cry and a little more rest will leave me better able to think._

 

*****

Captain Hammer trudged, sniffling, out of the office of his psychologist. His shrink had suggested for weeks now that he get back on the horse and go back to his superheroing ways. There were considerations to be made on either end of that question.

Hammer now knew he was nigh-invulnerable, rather than entirely invulnerable. That was new. New and he didn't like it. At all. Horrible's death ray hadn't been enough to kill him, but it had  _hurt_. The police had told him it was an upgraded stun ray, and that it probably would have killed a hero with less significant invulnerability. That had been small, small consolation. Those shrapnel pieces had  _hurt_. Getting blown across a room and landing on his spine had  _hurt._ He smirked; Azure Sphere would not have survived it. That didn't mean he wanted to do it again, let alone frequently as a superhero's life would require.

The other consideration was his love life. Women were not flocking to his door anymore; hell, they weren't even trickling. It seemed he had to continue saving the day to be worth pursuing by women.

"Maybe I can invest in a bulletproof vest," Hammer muttered to himself, knuckling at his eyes like a petulant four year old. Crying in public would not help his already badly battered image.

*****

That evening, Penny awoke to find her faith restored. Someone in the cardboard city had taken pity on her. A day old lemon-poppy muffin and a to-go bowl of chicken soup were waiting just inside the flap of the box in which she'd slept. This small kindness brought tears back to her eyes, but they were grateful, happy ones. She ate her small repast, and felt the strength instantly return to her; and with it, her positive outlook.

She stepped outside the box to a little applause. To her delighted surprise, the old man and the young woman she'd seen in the soup kitchen some weeks ago were sitting together smiling at her. They asked if she was doing some research on what the homeless condition was like, and explained that being homeless, one learns quickly which restaurants give away leftover food at closing time. They were appropriately horrified to discover that no, Penny was one of their number herself now, after her inaccurately presumed death. She told them she had gone to the shelter and seen the looming spectre of indifference, the closed building. She promised them it would be open again.

Knowing she had people depending on her helped Penny shake off the lethargy of her condition. It was too late now to do anything about her legal status, but she could do something about being a filthy mess.

The Dry and Fold was already closed up for the night, by the time she got there. It had taken her all day, but busking at the suggestion of her acquaintances, Penny had managed to come up with enough quarters to wash and partially dry a load, plus a bottle of shampoo/body wash. She might leave with the clothing somewhat damp, and with the guilt at not paying for her detergent, but at least she'd be presentable to walk into the Social Security office and prove to them she wasn't really dead without looking like some kind of crazy person.

She was so lost in her thoughts that the sound of another washer starting up didn't immediately catch her attention...

*****  
His apartment! Billy was livid. He'd come home from the Evil League of Evil meeting planning on working on the plans for his interspecies communicator. Bad Horse's cowboy henchmen had been spotted sleeping with the henchwomen of Gotcha Game, and the Thoroughbred of Sin had decided to do away with them. Finding out this plan had been difficult. Between Horrible and Professor Normal, they'd worked out a system of asking Bad Horse yes or no questions and the Horse himself had beat a hoof on the marble floor in response. Horrible had volunteered, correctly sensing Bad Horse's rage at being diminished to behaving like a carny freak.  
  
But none of that was happening tonight. He had come home to find two women and a young man waiting in his bedroom, Dr. Horrible t-shirts, clothing, and underwear strewn all over the place. They greeted him in a creepy chorus. Recoiling in disgust, he called Moist to get rid of them, impressing on his henchman that Moist could do whatever he wanted to or with them -- just so long as it was not in Horrible's own apartment, let alone his bed.  
  
He swept broodingly into the invisibility field and remained long enough to make sure Moist would honor his wishes before gathering up a basket of laundry and seeking his remaining sanctuary -- the laundromat.  
  
The security system now admitted him without the resonator. He'd made some changes and duplicated the keys so it treated him like he owned the place, literally. He was so lost in his thoughts that the sound of another washer already running as he entered didn't immediately catch his attention.  
  
But the sound of running water and singing did, and Billy felt his knees go weak at the sound of a voice he never thought he'd hear again -- unless he counted that cloning experiment he'd been mulling over.  
  
*****

 _ **[REPRISE: A Man's Gotta**_ **Do]**  
  
A _girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do_  
It seems the world needs a hero that's new  
Someone's gotta save us from killing us to death  
Just you wait until I've caught my breath  
  
Penny had made the most of her borrowed time in the laundromat. Her hair was clean and wet, and she had managed to salvage a long, green sundress. You'd never know from looking at her now that she'd been a bedraggled, dirty waif only half an hour earlier. Much better, she thought, hearing her own voice. I sound myself again.  
  
The sudden THUD from a few feet away made her whirl in alarm toward the sound. "Who's there?" she called out.  
  
*****  
  
Billy found himself sitting on the floor, laundry basket spilled beside him as she called out and padded unneringly through the dark at him. He knew he was surrounded by the invisibility field in a distant sort of way. His thoughts ran around inside his head like gerbils someone had fed Red Bull.

 

 ** _[REPRISE: Freeze Ray]_**  
  
 _Hiding out  
In the dark  
Memories  
tumbling  
  
Must be now  
cracking up  
And I'm now  
stumbling  
  
Like a freeze ray  
time has stopped  
for me.  
  
Like a freeze ray  
my brain is locked  
like a stopped clock I'm  
  
Finding that  
that I feel  
feel a bit  
what's the phrase?  
  
Going mad  
Losing it  
Freaking out  
Anyways  
  
Like a freeze ray  
I have stopped  
my brain  
  
Like my freeze ray  
I have just gone totally insane, I --_  
  
"...Impossible," he breathed.  
  
*****  
  
"Billy?"  
  
There was no answer. Penny was sure it was his voice, but she couldn't see him. She smiled; what were the chances she'd run into him here? Now, of all times? She'd also seen his face in the paper. Los Angeles was terrified of Dr. Horrible and the Evil League of Evil. Captain Hammer had all but dropped off the face of the earth.  
  
Penny wanted to imagine that she was simply hearing things. Billy wasn't Billy anymore, to hear or read the news. Her laundry buddy was lost to her. But hope was her bread and butter, and she wasn't going to let it go. He was here. In the laundromat. The place they'd made friends. If that wasn't a sign, Penny didn't know what was. "I know it's you."  
  
She waited, then turned to casually put her wash into a dryer and start it. "I recognize your laundry basket," she added coyly, reaching out with one bare foot and lifting the basket back up to a standing position from where it seemed to have fallen.  
  
"..."  
  
 _Here I go...mumbling..._  Billy clamped his mouth shut.  _Stop it. You've had whole conversations with her before. Yeah, but that was before she came back from the dead?!_  
  
"P-P-Penny...?" Billy found himself stammering. The part of him relegated to duty as the evil Dr. Horrible warned,  _It could be a trap!_  but Billy had to know. He'd never know another night's sleep if he ran now; not to mention he actually had one of his old white lab coats in the laundry, reminding him of somewhat happier times.  
  
"Mm-hmm," Penny's voice answered, warming. She came out from behind the stacked big load washers, and the lenses of Billy's nightvision goggles were rendered useless as his eyes filled with happy tears. "Where are you?"  
  
"Here," he answered. It took a minute to switch off his invisibility field. His hands were shaking. "How?"  
  
"I don't know," Penny admitted, peering into the dark until her eyes adjusted to the sight of him. "I woke up yesterday in the graveyard."  
  
Billy couldn't help the reaction; there was a reason he'd chosen Mad Science as his method of trying to change the world. "R-really? Have you been hungry since then? For flesh? Brains? Anything like that?"  
  
"No," Penny chuckled. "I had chicken soup and a muffin," she assured him. "I'm not a zombie. Honest. What are you doing here?"  
  
"M-My laundry," Billy stammered, wringing his hands.  _Stop it, you're a success now. Not a joke, not a dork, not a failure._  "Funny. Just like before."  
  
"Almost," Penny agreed, smiling gently at him. "You look -- " She paused, squinting at him. The light wasn't very good, but she paused, trying to find the kindest way to say it. "Like you're experiencing some work-related stress." Terrible would have been more accurate. He looked gaunt, like he hadn't been eating or sleeping well. "So -- the Evil Scientist thing not working out as you'd hoped?"  
  
There was no rancor in the question. He'd lied to her, told her he wanted to be like Gandhi rather than Bad Horse. He'd been the technical author of her death. But she didn't sound angry. She only sounded ...concerned. "I feel fine," he lied again, hating himself, even as the Horrible part of him smirked.  
  
"You look like you don't get enough rest, enough sun," Penny persisted. "Or enough hope."  
  
"The lab has no windows," Billy murmured, looking at his boots. "And...I guess you were my source of hope, Penny." He raised his head to look at her. It was cheesy. Something Hammer would've said.  _Brace for impact, loser. She's gonna laugh._  "Nobody to tell me 'head up, Billy, buddy'...I...I guess I lost my way."  
  
But to his surprise, she didn't laugh. "I know about losing your way," she said solemnly. "All that glitters isn't gold. I thought I'd picked a hero, but found he was really--"  
  
"A zero?" Billy chuckled, then mentally kicked himself.  
  
"Well, yes." Penny agreed, looking at Billy seriously. "You know," she began hesitantly.  
  
Billy raised a hand to gesture she continue.  
  
She took a breath and did so. "I waited here for you the Saturday before everything went all ...pear shaped."  
  
"You  _did_?" Billy's head swam. She'd waited for him? And he'd been in the lab plotting to kill Captain Hammer. Inwardly, he groaned. "I'm...but...I mean...why?"  
  
"Because you were my friend...who I was getting to know better," Penny replied, and the hurt tone in her voice made Billy wince. "Who wanted to change the world, but was a little angrier about the state of things than I am."  
  
"And... now?" Billy supposed if she wanted his head, she could have it. She already had his heart; he had known that from the moment he'd laid eyes on her, and the feeling had not gone away; it had intensified. Seeing her a second time as a glorious miracle had only cemented the feelings he'd already known had taken firm root in his heart.  
  
"What happened was an accident," Penny said. "No, it was," she insisted as he opened his mouth to protest. I heard you tell Captain Hammer not to fire. You were more concerned with the innocent bystanders than he was. I don't know why you sought evil. You have it in you to be a hero."  
  
"Why would I want to be a hero," Billy asked, that bitter, old sneer creeping back into his voice. "Look at what this town thinks of as a hero!"  
  
"Fine," Penny said, her voice dropping a few degrees. Billy's heart sank. But she continued, voice stronger, "That doesn't mean you can't be a better example of what a hero really should be, does it?"  
  
Billy blinked at her and lifted the goggles off his face, feeling naked and exposed. He hadn't showed his face in public without a pair since his costume upgrade. And she had a way of making him see things differently.  _But it's too late for that._  "I...can't."  
  
"Of course you can, if you want to," Penny said, stepping closer.  
  
"No," Billy said, miserably, "I  _can't_. If I do, the League will kill me. And if they find out you're the reason--"  _for everything_  "--for my change of heart, they'll kill  _you_." Billy's mind reeled. Bad Horse would not take it well. He could see it now.

_**[REPRISE: Bad Horse Chorus** **]** _

_It seems on close reflection  
You haven't got the stuff.  
So now the League's election  
means you will get snuffed.  
  
Your life is done, there's no recourse  
Man up and take it, signed Bad Horse!_  
  
"Why would they kill me?"  
  
"To keep me in line."  _Tell her. Tell her, then tell her goodbye._  "They're evil," Billy said, voice quavering. "That's what they do. They...they kill loved ones to keep people in line."  
  
Penny's breath caught in her throat. "Are you telling me --"  
  
"ThatIloveyou?" It came out all in a rush. Billy wasn't even aware he'd squeezed his eyes shut. "Yes. Since the first time I saw you here. Since the first time you asked me what I said, and all I could manage was to babble incoherently."  _I ...I love the air._  "And to keep you alive, I ...also have to tell you goodbye. Find...another laundromat."  
  
"Because they'll kill me?" Penny's few quarters had run out, and she took damp laundry out to fold it and tuck it into her bag.  
  
"Yes." The words were dragged out of him as if over broken glass. It had wanted out of his heart for so long. So long. But old habits died hard and some part of him seized up and resisted him carelessly exposing his heart this way. "Because I love you and they'll kill you and I can't...can't lose you twice." It was easier to say the second time, and some part of him feared he'd never be able to stop. He could envision himself in a straitjacket just babbling "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou" over and over inside a padded room.  
  
Billy forced his eyes open. "I know it's stupid and I didn't ...and I should've said sooner ...and maybe none of that would've happened and--"  
  
Penny had closed the space between them while his eyes were closed and before he realized what was happening, she kissed him. Her lips were warm, and he was just realizing this when she was suddenly back where she'd been standing a second ago. His hands were caught in an awkward mid-air dangle, thwarted en route to bringing his arms around her.  
  
"...and I don't think the League will be a problem."  
  
Billy stared. Blinked. Stared. Blinked. Stared.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"You've ...you're ...you..."  _Got powers._  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You...you you...you..."  _Kissed me! She kissed me!_  Inwardly, he was dancing for joy.  
  
"How?" Penny took a turn to stare at Billy and he froze, deer-in-headlights. "Do you really want the answer to that question, or another kiss?"  
  
He wanted another kiss. So badly it ached. But he pushed back the shining memory of that one tantalizing sample. "Both," he admitted, "But they both --"  _Are you crazy? She'll change her mind! Kiss her again! Now!_  "--can wait. You...I ... I ... owe you so much explanation. And ..."  
  
Penny quirked a brow at him.  
  
"...do you have someplace safe to stay?"  
  
Penny's brow lowered.  
  
  
"Nono. I'm not putting the moves on you. Not that I ..."  _Wouldn't like to. Yeah, say that, watch her walk away forever or snap your neck with her new powers._  "What I mean is you've been believed dead for some time. I'd let you have my sofa, but ...well, again with the certain death. My lab's not secure."  
  
Penny's brows softened, and Billy felt something around his heart stop squeezing. "What did you have in mind?"  
  
"The Mariott?" It wasn't four-star swank, and it wasn't fleabag cheap. It also wasn't enough either way to get the League's attention. They'd assume he wanted to pick up a hooker to experiment on, with any luck at all. The way he was feeling at this moment, Billy dared to believe in luck again.  
  
"Okay," Penny agreed, smiling faintly by the light of the street outside. "Can we stop for frozen yogurt first?"  
  
Billy gave her a crooked little smile. "Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
He picked up his own basket, now full of half-damp clothing, and extended a hand for her bag. You got the kind of second chance that doesn't happen every day. Don't screw it up.  
  
"You looked better in white, by the way," Penny said to him.  
  
Billy nearly dropped the basket. "...eep," he managed, startled.  
  
She turned to him with serious eyes.

 _ **[REPRISE: Penny's Song]**_  
  
 _Here's the story of a boy  
Who fought to keep his good side.  
Thinking good was so naive  
And that he had to hide  
away.  
  
But even in your darkness,  
you knew mercy could be found  
You let your master plan be damned and  
let it fall to shatter on the ground_  
  
Billy opened his mouth, stunned, and Penny raised her fingers to his lips, silencing him.  
  
 _Evil given way to kindness  
Proving there's a heart in there.  
Dreams are easy to achieve  
If you open up and care  
today..._  
  
She was telling him his second chance was conditional. She was telling him Horrible had to go if Billy wanted her to consider him worth her time. He understood, and heart in his throat, nodded to show her.  
  
 _Things might get much worse_  
But I have just the thing in mind.  
Every plan you plan will keep us  
going toward a better space in time...  
  
He locked the laundromat behind them and they quickly hailed a cab. Their heads together, in hushed voices, Penny told him the idea that had sprung fully formed into her head the moment she'd realized it was Billy in the darkness with her.


	2. Act II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy and Penny hatch a plan to get Billy out of the situation he got himself into. Captain Hammer learns just how hard a hit he took.

If he were doing a blog entry about this, he'd be in bright, shiny, gold lab coat and goggles, big smile on his face, blinding his viewers. But he couldn't. At least, not now. Penny was back. From the dead. With powers of her own. And if that weren't astonishing, incredible and uncanny enough -- she'd forgiven him for his stupidity and technical responsibility for her death. Spectacular!  
  
But it had to remain a secret. Billy could live with that.  
  
It was a dream come true, and Billy had already pinched himself. Penny lay curled up asleep on the bed like a rumpled ragdoll angel, and Billy had, like a gentleman, slept on the pull-out lounger in the room he'd rented for them after they'd left the laundromat.

_**[REPRISE: Brand New Day]** _

  
_Underneath the good hearted lurks a mind_  
That while wicked and sharp is still so kind  
She's come up with a plan that'll change my everything  
So we'll be together and it makes me wanna sing  
It will be all right!  
  
It's a brand new day  
And the sun is high  
All the birds are singing  
'Cause she is alive!  
I'm so glad she's sleeping  
'Cause I'm gonna cry!  
It's a brand new day.  
  
This just seems like a dream, but I never wanna wake  
She returned when I got more than I could ever take  
It's a sign that the world really isn't dark and grey  
I can see different now, there really is a better way  
It will be all right!  
  
And Penny has seen the evil me,  
She forgave me for being a failure.  
I've been a bad guy, but I'll give good a try  
And we'll settle down in a shiny new Australia  
  
It's a brand new day  
And the sun is high  
And the angels sing  
Because I'm gonna die  
We're gonna blow this joint  
We'll kiss LA goodbye  
And I feel so high  
It's a brand new day!  
  
  
Money was no object for Billy now. After leaving Penny a note, he paid the hotel bill for the entire month, and sent up a prepaid cellphone on which Penny could reach him in an emergency. He'd known from the laundromat she wore a size four. A couple quick phone calls had a couple of the local boutiques scheduled to make a few deliveries to the room so she'd have more than the one lonely bag full of laundry.  
  
It was painful to leave her again, but their plan depended on a number of factors, and he had to set things into motion. The invisibility field hummed to life again, as he left the stairwell, and he caught a bus back to the lab, where the first thing he did was change the locks. Ordinary Schlages plus a thumbprint and retina scanner. The League could think what they wanted, and they'd likely think Dr. Horrible wanted to work undisturbed. They'd be right.  
  
He felt like he could take on the world. Letting Horrible out to work on Bad Horse's translator bridle wasn't a chore. The creative side of his mind enjoyed the challenge, and although Horrible still fancied himself evil, there was a lot less manic pride to it. Horrible was part of Billy and had loved Penny too; as such, he was just as glad and grateful she was back, even if he was too surly to admit it, and preferred to sulk about the plan that would lock him back in Billy's hindbrain.  
  
Horrible whistled while he worked. Moist commented it was nice to see him enjoying his work as he left to deliver the updated plans to the League.  
  
*****  
  
The bulletproof vest had been expensive.  
  
It was also uncomfortable.  
  
But it made him look all the more buff.  
  
Hammer was ready to return to the streets. Ready to go back to bashing in heads. Screw bashing in minds. Where had that gotten him but involved with a bleeding-heart nerd girl? He hadn't even been with her long enough to do the weird stuff before she died. Hell, rubbing Horrible's nose in it had quit being fun about the time the shrapnel hit him in the chest and he'd felt pain for the first time.  
  
But now that he had the gear that would protect him from the sort of pain he'd experienced when Horrible's ray had nuked itself, Hammer was ready for a rematch. He flexed his fists. These are not the Hammer, he reminded himself, smiling as he felt his old confidence yawn and stretch inside his head.  
  


**_[REPRISE: Captain Hammer: A Man's Gotta Do]_ **

_Look out, everyone, time you all did see  
That the hero's back again, that the hero's me  
Yes, me, Captain Hammer, hair blowing in the breeze  
Saving the day with my expertise!_  
  
It was just a matter now of finding Horrible and making the little geek pay for humiliating and embarrassing him. But in the meantime, stopping that carjacker would do. Hammer tossed him aside like a doll, ignoring the crunch as he impacted the brick wall. "Are you all right?" he asked the driver solicitously, savoring that doe-eyed simper as she gazed up gratefully into his face.  
  
 _Yeah. That's better._  
  
*****  
  
Penny was astonished and delighted when the knocks at the door heralded Billy's surprises. She understood; he wasn't so good with speaking his heart, so he showed it in other ways. He'd spent so many months terrified to talk to her, quietly nursing his feelings and wanting to find either the courage or a way to get rid of them, all the while letting those negative feelings feed the part of him that he'd brought to life as Dr. Horrible. Now that he didn't have to hide or deny them, he was practically a different person.  
  
Ordinarily, Penny wasn't terribly materialistic, but she had lost nearly everything she owned to the world thinking her dead. Billy would soon settle down beyond his nerves, and she was certain the displays would stop. Particularly since she planned to point out to him that Horrible's money, though mostly blood-free, was still ill-gotten. If her plan was going to work, if they were going to work, Billy was going to have to go cold turkey on evil. Horrible would balk for a bit, she was certain, but Billy seemed a lot more Billy and a lot less Horrible when they were together.  
  
They'd been up talking half the night, working on the plan. He'd showed her what he'd really been doing the first time they'd spoken. The Wonderflonium had powered the Freeze Ray which she'd seen in action on that terrible afternoon. But it hadn't worked right, Penny pointed out, because deep down, Billy knew it wasn't really the right thing to do. He'd stayed his hand with the Death Ray, because there had been good in him even as he rampaged like a B-Movie villain. "All you were missing was the handlebar moustache," she'd joked, and he'd blushed hard, admitting the moustache had fallen in the soup, and hadn't looked the same since.  
  
She spent the morning picking out the outfits she liked most from what Billy had sent, and sending the rest back. Lunch was a simple salad, and then she spent the afternoon -- all of it -- dealing with the frustration of trying to prove she wasn't dead to the government. Times like this, Penny mused,  _I can see where Billy developed his Horrible tendencies._  But she kept her smile in her voice and vowed to out-nice the dead voice on the other end of the line. She'd already let the frustration get away from her once, and the hole in the headboard would probably not please the owner of the hotel.  
  
By the time evening fell, Penny had taken a quick trip out to Jo-Ann fabrics, bought needle and thread, and was working on her part of the plan she'd hatched with her Billy buddy. She picked at the plate of room service mixed vegetables while she worked.  
  
*****  
  
Billy stopped to pick up a quick Fatburger, and to set the plan in motion. The little nanobots would take a few hours to get into position. In the meantime, he had a few other details to get into place. He returned to the apartment, made sure everything was locked down, and entered the lab. Finishing the last bite of burger, he opened the other bag he'd picked up while he was out. One Eglantine Rose, surrounded by pale yellow and white roses.  _Thank you, Wikipedia._  
  
There was a flash of bright color as he activated his improved Transmatter Beam. While it warmed up, he turned on his communication scrambler, then texted Penny's phone.  
  
STAY AWAY FROM THE LOUNGER. INCOMING. -- B.  
  
*****  
  
Penny was just coming out of the shower when the phone sounded an incoming text message. She glanced curiously at the text message, and then blinked as there was a sudden, teeth-aching whine filling the room. Alarmed, she backed into the bathroom. The lounger Billy had slept on suddenly groaned under the weight of several dozen gold bars. Atop them was a bouquet of roses and a note. Once certain nothing else would teleport into the room, she stepped forward to pick up the flowers and read.  
  
P --  
  
I can't give these back, but our new friend can, unless you care to do the honors yourself. It'd be a good start toward getting Helping Hands opened again. -- B.  
  
Penny smiled.  _He really is a mad genius, isn't he?_  
  
Two minutes later, the note self-destructed, crumbling away as the paper rapidly aged to dust.  
  
*****  
  
Late that evening, long after Billy had finally torn himself away from texting Penny, Dr. Horrible allowed the sinister laughter to bubble up as he turned on the webcam.  
  
"Hello, viewers, been awhile. Have you enjoyed reading about me in the papers?" He lifted a sheaf of papers from offscreen. "By this email, it seems you have." He read the first one, and chuckled. "Johnny Snow -- seeking to make a name on my time? Puh-lease. You weren't worth my time before, you're definitely not worth it now." He chucked the sheet over his shoulder.  
  
He read emails congratulating him on his evil triumph, one or two condemning him for not using his gifts in the service of humanity, and indulged the laugh again. But before he could read another email, there was a bright flash and a loud bang outside his window. He schooled his face into an expression of arrogant annoyance at the interruption, and addressed the cam. "Hmph. Interruptions, always interruptions." He flipped the cam off, and walked to the window, knowing Penny would be doing the same.  
  
****  
  
Penny sat with a frozen yogurt on at the window, smiling up at the sky.  
  
*****  
  
Captain Hammer was taping up a sprained wrist with tears in his eyes. It seemed this pain thing was going to happen now all the time. He didn't like it one bit. He was going to have to buy aspirin or something. Drink more milk. He was contemplating the betrayal of his superpowers when a flash of light and a loud noise drew his attention to the window. What he saw in the night sky made his jaw drop:  
  
In the sky, fireworks spelled out in bright green letters:  
  
 **DR. HORRIBLE - YOUR NEMESIS IS COMING TO TAKE YOU DOWN.**  
  
"...But  _I'm_  his nemesis!" Hammer whined, fist punching a dent in the wall. He winced and shook out his hand.  
  
*****  
  
The following morning, the Deputy Mayor was sitting in his office, reading the news. Predictably, the front pages were all speculating on who could've done the fireworks calling out the city's worst villain ever. Johnny Snow had, in a rather surly manner, denied responsibility. Captain Hammer had recently resurfaced, but displays of showmanship like this were generally not his style.  
  
There was a tap behind him at the window. He whirled, and found a costumed young woman wearing green and white gazing serenely at him from atop a pile of gold bars...the gold bars that had been missing since the week before Dr. Horrible had defeated Captain Hammer. "Who are you? How did you --"  
  
The young woman smiled from behind her mask. "You may call me Ray of Hope," she said softly. "And I didn't. Dr. Wonderful did. He sent me to bring these back to you, and tell you to put them to good use. He asked me to tell you that the grip of terror that holds this town will soon be broken. Don't give up." Before the Deputy Mayor could say another word, she stepped off the balcony, dropped five stories to the ground, and took off at a run way too fast for the average human.  
  
"Doctor Wonderful?" the Deputy Mayor asked, turning to look at the bars. He reached for his phone. This was a hopeful sign.  
  
*****  
  
Ray of Hope was spotted over the next few weeks, rescuing kittens from trees, helping little old ladies across the street, and gently apprehending muggers, rapists, and thieves. In between, she delivered messages to the Deputy Mayor's office, reminding him that Dr. Horrible's reign of terror would soon be over. In between those times, Penny helped with the rebuilding of the Helping Hands shelter. Captain Hammer turned up a time or two, for appearance's sake, but between them, their super strength made quick work of putting the place back to order. He attempted to hit on her, but she simply gave him the "we do not do that on my planet" look, and left him to find other targets to hit on.  
  
She wondered, watching him carry beds in from the van, if he didn't look a little weaker -- or if she was just seeing him for the first time as she had only begun to see him before the ...incident.


	3. Act III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The finale. Dr. Horrible defeated...or is he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slightly naughty joke in this chapter.

The next few weeks saw Captain Hammer finding himself neck and neck with both Johnny Snow and the new hero, Ray of Hope, working to keep the streets safe now that Horrible had ascended and crime was on the rise. This was unfamiliar to him; he wasn't used to the second stringers keeping up with him. Reluctantly, he had to admit to himself that his powers had not been the same since the debacle at the shelter. They were weaker ... and weakening. But he was Captain Hammer, and he wasn't going to give up.  
  
The next few weeks also saw more blog posts. Horrible waxed eloquent on the state of Los Angeles under his rule, and how he was planning to expand eastward anytime now. "Even now," blustered Horrible, "Satellites are launching. I will be on national television, "advising" the sheeple of this country--"  
  
"No. No, you won't," interrupted a voice.  
  
Horrible blinked, hard, and stared at his screen. "Someone punching through my security? A hacker? Impossible! It can't be! Who would dare?!"  
  
"Oh, but it can, and it is," chuckled the voice. "Nobody knows you better than I do. And I know where you like to put your back doors." A new window popped open inside the existing one, transposing onto the outgoing transmission so the viewers could see what Horrible was seeing. What they saw was the spitting image of the villain, only with lighter, more golden hair, and a pale blue lab coat. "Oh come on, you couldn't have missed my message letting you know I was coming." A gloved hand gestured significantly skyward.  
  
Horrible stammered and sputtered indignantly, fists balling. "...You!"  
  
"Who else, dear brother?" Dr. Wonderful said calmly over steepled fingers. "Did you think once I came back to this dimension and saw what you were doing, I'd sit quietly and let you go on with this ...this insanity?!" He shook his head, as if apologizing to all the viewers of the blog for having to put them through this.  
  
"Oh my god!" Moist, in his own apartment, fell out of his chair. "He never told me he had a good twin!"  
  
"Well, what self-respecting villain would want to admit that," Bait asked, nuzzling him. A lot of the underworld couldn't see what she saw in the henchman with the weak powers. Bait saw potential. That, plus, he saved her a small fortune in Astroglide. "C'mon back to bed, hmm?"  
  
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Horrible sneered into the camera. "You're welcome to try. Better men than you have tried and failed." I can't believe I am calling Captain Hammer a better man than anyone.  
  
"You may make book on it," Dr. Wonderful said, calmly, and signed off.  
  
"A challenge, then," Horrible said to his viewers, once the screen was his again. "The chance to crush another hero under my heel. My accursed ...good twin." Horrible sneered, and then let the expression turn into a smile the Grinch would've envied. "This will be fun. Stay tuned for further developments. " Dr. Horrible signed off, made certain the webcam was disengaged, and locked himself in the bathroom with the water running before subsiding into giggles. It was all so ridiculous. But fun. It had been a good bit of work to comb the fake highlights in, find a warehouse to mock-up another lab, and then the bouncing of the signal so it appeared to originate somewhere else. But if it paid off, so much the better.  
  
Once he was certain he had pulled himself together, he wheeled open the back part of the lab. Despite offers from Bad Horse, Billy preferred to remain in the apartment he'd converted into his laboratory; the place was home and it had history to him. Plus, moving would have made him vulnerable to enemies. Dead Bowie was no good in daylight, and Fury Leika never missed  _The View._  
  
He shut the vault door, waiting until he could hear the locks engage, and checked on his special project.  
  
The Billy-clone growing in a Wonderflonium-enhanced, growth-accelerant nutrient bath was nearly ready, and the programming for what he'd have to do when he was ready was proceeding along perfectly.  
  
He changed into the blue and white Dr. Wonderful outfit, engaged the invisibility field, and went out to show the hero's face a bit.  
  
People who saw him gasped and gave him a wide berth or ran the other way. He simply smiled politely, and continued walking, hands behind his back, offering no one the slightest threatening gesture.  
  
At least, for a little while.  
  
*****  
  
"Doctor Horrible! FACE ME!"  
  
Billy turned around, and put on his best innocent expression. In this case, it was easy; other than the translator bridle, Horrible had done his evil by dictating Moist, Tie Dye and Fake Thomas Jefferson to handle some of his busy work. Otherwise, he hadn't personally done much of anything evil at all; in fact, through Penny, he made sure all the money he'd stolen got back into the hands of the authorities. Ray of Hope had repeatedly credited the mysterious Dr. Wonderful with doing right where Dr. Horrible had done wrong.  
  
"Captain Hammer, I presume," Billy said, adjusting the collar of his blue lab coat, and fighting to keep the revulsion off his face. "I'm afraid you've made a mistake."  
  
"The only mistake I've made so far was letting you get away all those times before." Captain Hammer stood with his feet apart, left hand on his hip, and right pointing at the scientist he was addressing. "I should've aimed better." Captain Hammer glowered, and reached to pick up the Sebring parked beside him. His muscles complained and strained. "I won't... make that...nnnngh.... mistake ... again." _Picking up a car didn't used to be this hard...!_  
  
"No, I mean I'm his brother," Billy answered, hands spread open in a gesture of harmlessness. "Dr. Wonderful." He frowned. Hammer had tossed the car at his head months ago with no effort at all...  
  
"You're not gonna fool me that easily, Horrible!" Hammer said, through clenched teeth, and hefted the car over his head. He could feel his knees wanting to buckle, his spine wanting to bow under the weight. His super strength was following the same direction his invulnerability had gone.  
  
"This doesn't have to be a 'No One Shall Defeat Him But Me' moment," Dr. Wonderful said mildly, but his eyes widened in alarm. _He's gonna drop the car!_ Reflexively, he patted down the lab coat, searching his pockets. _It's gotta be in here...where is it?_  
  
"Yeah, tell it to ...the...whoa....nnngh!" Whatever Hammer had been trying to say was lost under the Sebring as its weight came down atop him. There was a sickening crunch muffled by the sound of metal and plastic impacting concrete and the safety-glass windows shattering on all four sides.  
  
"No!" Billy shouted, surprising himself with the genuineness of his reaction. He pointed the anti-gravity beam at the Sebring and levitated it off the hero.  
  
Captain Hammer coughed up a gout of blood, and frowned down at his broken arms, eyes shining with tears he was –thus far – successfully fighting back.  _At least the therapy taught me enough control not to wail like a big pussy. I still want my mama._  
  
"Oh, no," Dr. Wonderful murmured, pointing the anti-gravity beam at the fallen hero. "This is terrible." He'd spent many a sleepless night kicking himself for not using the Freeze ray on Penny, holding her caught between instants until help could arrive. So he acted with the speed of recrimination now. He hit the sequence of buttons on his armband to hack into the 911 computer and report Captain Hammer down. Sirens were soon audible in the distance. His time was short.  
  
"Don't even have the balls to finish me?" Hammer taunted weakly.  
  
"You've got the wrong doctor," Dr. Wonderful repeated, earnestly. "Dr. Horrible is my evil twin." It was becoming less and less a lie every time he said it. The part of him he thought of as Horrible complained in a voice almost too soft for Billy to hear.  
  
"Well, shit," Hammer groaned. "I thought that only ever happened in the movies."  
  
"You'll be fine until help arrives." The freeze ray kept Captain Hammer still and locked in stasis -- it would wear off sometime after the paramedics got him into an ambulance. Billy flipped on his invisibility field and made for the hotel.  
  
"Billy--?"  
  
Penny barely had a moment to open the door before he all but collapsed in her arms, shuddering with silent tears. The TV played softly in the background, the news... and as she held Billy, she understood.  
  
*****  
  
"All right! Enough!" Dr. Horrible shouted and flailed at the image bisecting his video blog window. From the other side of the window, Dr. Wonderful regarded him calmly. "You think you can hack my blog and taunt me! You think you can steal back what I have rightfully stolen and get away with it? You think you can destroy my bad name?"  
  
"Think?" Wonderful smirked out of the screen, pretending to polish his fingernails against the chest of his lab coat. "Done and done. Those gold bars are safely back where they belong. So's the money you took from the First National Bank. All your assets. The League will be so displeased."  
  
Horrible went a little pale, mouth dropping open in mingled shock and fury. He recovered, pointing at the screen. "Then it is time to have this out, once and for all. Mano e Mano. If you think you're up to it," Horrible sneered.  
  
"Anytime you're ready, Horrible. I'll be there with bells on," Wonderful replied, unphased.  
  
*****  
  
The month of prepaid hotel room was up, but Billy paid for another week. Penny put on her Ray of Hope costume, and arrived at the re-dedication of the Helping Hands Homeless Shelter. This time it went well. The crowd had been skittish and nervous, but there was no mishap. Dr. Horrible did not have anything against the new heroine, it appeared, or declined to repeat the same caper. Either way, once Ray of Hope had finished her inspirational speech, there was applause. There was no punctuation of evil laughter, nor any freeze ray.  
  
Billy sat in the back, dressed in a modest, off the rack suit, and applauded loudest, then disappeared. Penny's big moment had happened, and now it was time for Dr. Wonderful's.  
  
*****  
  
"Are you sure?" Moist asked. "Your brother, if he's anything close to smart as you, he'll really be a challenge. I could be there. Get your back."  
  
"No," Horrible said, shaking his head. "My whole life he's taunted me. But now, I have a Ph.D. in Horribleness. Now my plans work out as planned. He hasn't known me in years. He won't know what hit him. Besides. I must do this alone." Billy wished he could've found a way to bring Moist in on it; but his friend was so happy as a gainfully employed henchman; and he couldn't let anything risk this plan.  
  
"Be careful, man," Moist said solemnly. "I'll be here, watching it on the news."  
  
Horrible nodded, and turned to his computer, making one last blog entry. "This is it, people. Watch this evening the end of my idiot brother. The end of Dr. Wonderful. Peace." He smirked, to place an accent on the irony of the gesture.  
  
*****  
  
That evening, at the wreckage of the Universal lot -- Wonderful's choice of battleground, to keep the collateral damage down (though that was something the world thought the brothers shared – until his defeat of Hammer, Horrible had not harmed anyone) -- the brothers met. Due to Horrible's blog, the news was there. As were the police. So were fans; there were even people wearing Dr. Wonderful T-shirts. And standing in front of them, protectively, was Ray of Hope.  
  
 _You can do it, Billy._  
  
Blood red labcoat and pale blue labcoat faced each other from 100 yards apart. Horrible stepped forward first, calling forth that manic smile he'd worn while monologuing for the crowd months ago.  
  


_[ **REPRISE: Slipping]**_

_So you came, after all  
Dare to face Horrible.  
Make your peace, say your prayers  
This is the end._  
  
And Wonderful responded, activating a force-field that sprang up around them to keep their battlefield separate from the onlookers:  
  
 _You have gone far enough  
now, Dr. Horrible.  
Time to put you away  
You comprehend? _  
  
The sky lit with flickers and flashes as each scientist unleashed his favourite weapons. Horrible's expression was unreadable under the dark goggles. Wonderful wore his up, and simply looked as if he were concentrating deeply. Horrible didn't bother working the crowd this time, and Wonderful didn't need their regard any more than he had it; the papers had already begin asking whether he was really Dr. Horrible's good twin, and could he really take down the worst evil the Evil League of Evil had ever recruited?  
  
The answer, it appeared, was yes, as the forcefield suddenly narrowed to just the two of them, and the rays from their weapons merged, briefly pushing against each other before the beam from Dr. Wonderful's gun gained intensity, leaching strength from Dr. Horrible's.  
  
"No! No! You cannot defeat me! I! AM! HORRIBLE!"  
  
"You are over with," Wonderful said sadly, pulling the forcefield down to himself only, as Horrible's weapon imploded and took its creator with it.  
  
*****  
  
Beep.  
  
Beep.  
  
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.  
  
Flatline.  
  
"Moist..."  
  
Moist had fallen asleep in Dr. Horrible's big chair, and swore to himself as his friend's voice called for him. He'd missed the fight. "Hey -- you're back already. You must've really kicked--"  
  
"...if you're hearing this, the unthinkable has happened, and I lost to my despicable brother."  
  
"What...no..." Moist stood creakily and walked to the computer, which had come to life on its own. "Oh, man..." The room was suddenly less humid. In his distress, Moist pulled all moisture from the room.  
  
"What I've created in my lab can never fall into anyone's hands," Horrible said, from the screen. "You have three minutes to escape. And then the lab is going to self destruct."  
  
Moist gasped as the countdown began, Horrible's computer screen lighting up with red letters that began counting backward from 3:00. "Microwave emitters are online," said the recording, emotionlessly. "Molecular bond dissolution beam will fire in two minutes, thirty seconds." Moist bolted, leaving wet footprints behind him as the computer's backup drives began popping and sparking themselves to death.  
  
He stood outside Billy's apartment, watching the lights flash and crackle. But the building never caught fire.  _I'll be damned,_  Moist thought.  _Evil or not, he still didn't want to hurt anybody. I knew he was still in there somewhere._  
  
*****  
  
Dr. Wonderful strode grimly from the flaming wreckage as fire consumed the body of Dr. Horrible behind him. The force field kept the flames from touching him. He smiled calmly at the crowd, bowed politely to the two news reporters, then once to Ray of Hope. Hands folded behind his back, he regarded them all with sad eyes, before speaking. "I can only offer Los Angeles and the world my apologies for not having realized sooner that my evil twin was on the rampage. Having done away with this threat, I now must return to my own studies." He held up a hand and shook his head as the reporters clamored questions. A moment later, his image stretched into the night sky and was gone -- the good doctor had transported himself away.  
  
The Eleven O'Clock news was all abuzz with the top story: BROTHER VS. BROTHER – Dr. Wonderful's grief. Would Los Angeles Ever See His Like Again?  
  
*****  
  
Penny arrived some time later to the hotel room. She had also taken her leave of the showdown site, and then turned to making sure all was well at Helping Hands. A paper sack in her free hand held two cups of frozen yogurt. "So -- how does it feel?" she asked him.  
  
"Amazing," Billy breathed. "I ... I don't know that I'm ready for this. For any of it. But I'd do it all again, just to see you smile like that."  
  
Penny's smile brightened. She set the frozen yogurt down on the table and reached down to embrace him. "I can't believe a plan this crazy worked."  
  
"In a world this crazy?" Billy asked her, reaching hesitantly to kiss her hand. "Anything is possible."  
  
"Did you ever figure out how I came back?" she asked, curling her fingers around his.  
  
"Yes," Billy said, sadly. "Kind of a side effect of ..." he gulped. Paused. And continued without naming the event. "The Wonderflonium in the freeze ray 1.0 and the radiation in the um...death ray..."  
  
Penny's eyes widened. "Are you saying the combination transferred Captain Hammer's powers to me?" she gasped.  
  
"No." Billy shook his head. "The death ray was calibrated for him specifically. But the trauma of getting hit with the shrapnel jumpstarted your own because the pieces were bathed in that same wonderflonium-radiation combo. You might've remained latent forever, otherwise."  
  
"Oh my god, did I just have an origin?" Penny asked.  
  
Billy quirked a brow at her. "I guess you did."  
  
"You think this hero thing is addictive?" she asked, reaching to offer him a bite of frozen yogurt.  
  
He took the spoon from her. "I think I could get used to it," he admitted. Then, casting his eyes upward at her, asked, timidly, "Have I earned another kiss?"  
  
Penny regarded him for a moment that seemed to stretch out for a decade.  
  
The spoonful of frozen yogurt went flying as she flung herself into his arms in an enthusiastic affirmative.  
  
This time, Billy got his arms around her, and promised himself he'd never let go.


End file.
